Shredwing
“I do not know if these monsters were Rifted here or were imported, but seeing three of those creatures weave in and out of the deep jungles of Georgia, even a mile away, froze my blood such that the hot Georgia sun could not thaw. I thought I’d seen the last of such monsters after that ill-omened adventure across the Great Ocean! Grateful am I that the beasts did not notice, or deign to notice, myself and my companions. It is small consolation beyond that, that the Splugorth who were pursuing us attracted their attention and the foul Atlantean monsters had as much trouble with the winged insect-devils as we might have; let monsters fight monsters and rid us of themselves, I say! But of there were three of those dragon-bugs, there were be others, I fear, and our trips into the Dinosaur Swamp have become that much more dangerous for the presence of yet another new hazard!” -R’gol Melard, Wilderness Scout EcoS-K-39 Shredwing Aerial Warmount aka ‘SnapDragon’, ‘BugSnake’, ‘Hook-Jaw’ While the Hawkmoons are generally regarded as THE aerial combat specialists of the Shemarrian Nation, this hasn’t precluded the other Tribes from developing their own aerialists and aerial Warmounts. Inspired greatly by the ecosystems they choose as their habitat, the Horrorwoods Tribe in particular has produced a range of flying Warmounts to serve their cause. The EcoS-K-39 Shredwing is one of the latest. The Shredwing is clearly based on the Giant Clamp-Mouth Dragonfly, a creature which was doubtlessly observed in the British Isles during the EShemarrians’ exploratory expeditions to Europe. From a distance, the EcoS-K-39 can be easily mistaken for the Clamp-Mouth, but closer scrutiny will reveal a metallic tint to its chitin, and small jet thrusters at the front and rear wing junctures. The armor plates immediately aft of the head also form a ‘natural’ saddle. Though heavily armored, the Shredwing is only lightly armed compared to aircraft of comparable MDC and size. However, it is also insanely maneuverable, with the capability of performing acrobatic maneuvers matched only by flying power armor (or natural aerialists). Despite its long length, the Shredwing flies like a demon, looping smoothly in and out of tall tree groves and ruined skyscrapers, cornering insanely tight, and using its multiple sets of jets and wing-airbrakes to vector in forward flight, flip end for end, stop dead in mid-flight, and curl back on an opponent. The few non-Shemarrians who have ridden the Warmount have compared it to a ‘roller coaster ride for masochists’ and ‘riding a giant whip’. Among the Horrorwoods, those who choose to ride Shredwings as their Warmounts of choice are regarded with high respect and a touch of suspicion with regards to their mental state. Though developed by the Horrorwoods and thus far used exclusively by them, the Shredwing has also attracted the attention of the Sapphire Cobras who are interested in acquiring a version for their own Tribal forces. Abilities Sensor Systems Advanced Motion Detection A denser network of air pressure sensors and micro-radar nodes all over the Shredwing give it a superior sense of its immediate surroundings and environment. Weapons Systems Eye Lasers (2) The eyes of the Shredwing sport the now-familiar EShemarrian eye lasers, delivering a truly lethal ‘gaze of death’. Missile Racks (2) Just below each of the forward sets of jet engines can be mounted expendable ordnance: * Mini-Missiles - 3 per hard point * Short Range Missiles - 1 per hard point * Bombs - Equivalent to mini-missiles and bombs, but DOUBLE the blast radius. Tail Laser Mounted at the rear wing juncture is a concealed mini-laser for dealing with tail-end attackers and for delivering attacks in passing. Snap-Mandibles The tripartite mouth, with its razor-sharp hooked mandibles, can snap closed with machine speed and precision to amputate even armored limbs, tear off weapons and sensors, and pierce megadamage hide. Just like the original, the Shredwing features an inner mouth as well, a rotating drill-like orifice of sorts that cuts into a grappled target like a rotary cutter. Vibroblade Tail The tail sports a vibroblade for whipping ‘stings’. Vibroblade Wings (10) Taking a cue from Gargoyle weapons also observed on the European expeditions, the Horrorwoods have equipped the Shredwing with molecularly-sharp wing leading edges, giving the Warmount its signature name. Flying too close to the many-winged Warmount is to run a gauntlet of flying blades. A popular tactic is to slash a target (especially a flying one) with all three forward wings on one side, then, while the target is still reeling, bring the long tail around to rake them in passing with the REAR wings in an attack compared by some to a ‘flying food processor’. 6d6 MD if all three forward wings on one side manage to slash, usually followed by 4d6 MD from the rear set in passing. Optional Modular Weapons (1) The Shredwing has provision for torso-mounting one weapon pod similar to those standard to the Monst-rex. Optional Acid Bite Some Shredwings have been known to use their inner mouths to inject a shot of powerful acid into a target, doing additional damage. As an alternative, this system can be used to deliver other chemical agents, such as paralyzing agents and powerful sedative drugs, into a trapped victim pinned by the tripart jaws. Does 4d6 MD the first melee, 3d6 MD the second melee, 2d6 MD the third melee, 1d6 MD the fourth, and 1d4 MD the fifth. Must be washed off with large amounts of liquid (at least 20 gallons), scrapped off, or other neutralized. Optional Spear Rack The saddle can be fitted with a spear rack with 20 MDC and holding 4-6 spears. Thrown from the air, the spears get an extra +1 to damage, +1d4 if thrown as part of a dive-bomb, due to the extra speed behind the throw. Programming The Ecotroz have installed robotic AIs, then infected the matrix with a low-level Ecotroz sentience. Has all the same standard programming as the Monst-Crane, but is configured for aerial movement and combat. Has the equivalent of the following (for aerial maneuvering purposes): * Pilot Jet Fighter 70% (+5% per level of experience). The Ecotroz entity can also pick up one Secondary skill at levels 2, 6, and 12 of experience, though the nature of the Shredwing intelligence and design is such that it is limited to skill selections from Technical: Language (understanding) and Lore, Espionage (Detect Ambush, Detect Concealment), Wilderness (Track Humanoids, Track Animals, Hunting, Identify Plants and Fruits). The Ecotroz fragment does occasionally need sleep/rest...though they only need 2 hours of rest/meditation per 24 hours...they can push this, going without for as many days as they have I.Q. points, but will have to go dormant for 4d6 hours after such exertion. Susceptible to Exorcism and Banish spells, but are +6 to save against such spells, +1 at levels 4, 8, and 12 of experience, and becoming IMMUNE at level 14 and up. Such Banishment causes the ‘bot to revert to its default robot programming. (OPTION: Ecotroz may become IMMUNE to Exorcism and Banishment with experience, and NEW BUILT EShemar constructs are immune to this) Note also that the Ecotroz-possessed ‘bot can infect other bots with the Ecotroz viral-entity, by bite or sustained touch (takes 3 attacks). Combat Shredwings are deadly in close combat, able to maneuver around in tight spaces and shred opponents with their wings and tail. The Ecotroz intelligence fragment inhabiting the ‘bot gives the Shredwing an aura and behavior more befitting a sentient being than a robot. The Shredwing, much like its design inspiration, is a dedicated predator, anxious and twitchy when not on the hunt, ready to explode into action. Even when at rest, the cyberpredator is rather ill-tempered, and will snap and lunge (although not fatally) at anybody it doesn’t like or who encroaches on its personal space (including other Shredwings). Horrorwoods EShemar who choose to ride the Shredwing have to put up with a rather more temperamental Warmount than others. In combat, however, the Shredwing is all ferocity and grace, and readily works with others in pack-hunting. Body Slam/Whip 2 attacks, 4d6 MD, plus 50% chance of knocking targets over, lose initiative and 1 APM getting back up. Tail Whip 2d6 MD Variants EcoS-K-39HwB ’Royal SnapDragon’ This upgraded variant, seen in the Shemarrian Star Nation, sports an especially brilliant iridescent skin that is actually laser-resistant armor (lasers do HALF damage), and the inner rotary mouth-bite has been replaced with a powerful, if short-ranged, plasma ejector (1,600 ft range, 1d4x10 MD per blast, and can also produce a ‘shotgun blast’ doing 6d6 MD to a 15 ft- wide area at 800 ft). The Royal SnapDragon is believed to be a collaboration between the Horrorwoods and the Silvermoons, in order to celebrate a shared victory somewhere in the galactic marches, and thus far has been seen as the ride of War Chieftains and exceptional officers in the Horrorwoods. Category:Shredwing Category:Warmount Category:Aerial Warmount Category:Horrorwood Category:Horrorwood Warmount Category:Variants